


Sub Rosa

by Crejhov



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: BAMF Darcy Lewis, BAMF Peggy Carter, Darcy Lewis is Tony Stark's Daughter, F/M, Gen, Hydra (Marvel)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-23
Updated: 2015-11-13
Packaged: 2018-03-25 10:44:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3807388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crejhov/pseuds/Crejhov
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Four days before her MIT graduation ceremony, Darcy Warren disappears. Her father pulls all his resources to search, but never finds her. One year later, Darcy Lewis starts her second year at Culver University.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Darcy Warren was at school when the guidance counselor pulled her out of class. It wasn't really an uncommon occurrence, Mrs. Cockren was always pulling her aside to chat with her. Probably because at fifteen years, she was the youngest senior in the history of Emma Willard, an elite all-girls boarding school in upstate New York. This was the first time she had been pulled out of class for a chat, though. Darcy stood up and shot Mr. Purdy a look of apology before collecting her books and bag and leaving as quietly as possible. 

With the door shut quickly behind her she turned and saw that Dean Hall was standing there with Mrs. Cockren. Consternation settled low in her stomach at the shared looks of condolence on their faces. Licking her dry lips, Darcy adjusted the strap of her bag further up her shoulder. “You needed to see me?”

“Follow me to my office.” Mrs. Cockren said with Dean Hall nodding along. “We'll talk there.”

The normally short walk to her office was fraught with unease. She couldn't be loosing her scholarship, could she? She was doing well in all her classes, which included practicum college courses. Alright, she could probably devote a little more study time to her Shakespearean Tragedy course. But really, there was only so much she could stand of all the insect and dramatic deaths. 

Darcy glanced between the two adults. This probably wasn't about Shakespeare. And she probably wasn't loosing her scholarship either. The entire point of the farce was so that her father could pay for school without anyone knowing he had an illegitimate child running around. Not only did her sperm donor want to keep her hidden, but her mother had shipped her off to junior boarding school as soon as she could. Bement School in Massachusetts from third to ninth grade. It could have been worse, she could have been stuck with her mom all year around or stuck with her dad who didn't even want her.

Finally making it to the Mrs. Cockren's office, the three of them sat down. Cockren behind her desk and Darcy and Dean Hall in the two guest chairs. Dr. Lauren Cockren with psychology degrees out the wazoo was a small woman and her enormous oak desk only highlighted that fact. “Darcy, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news.” She paused, maybe to allow Darcy time to brace herself? “I received a call from Beverly Warren, your aunt, earlier. Your mother passed away, dear.”

And then the there was silence. Complete and absolute silence. The ticking of the wall clock, the whistling of the wind outside of the window, the shuffling of fabric from the two women watching her, even the constant buzz of her thoughts, everything just ceased. The weight of those words sitting on top of her, crushing her, until they finally sunk in and pushed out warm, desperate tears. 

“What?” Was that her voice that sounded so broken? “What happened?”

Cockren tilted her head to the side, her face the picture of understanding. “A drunk driver hit her car.”

Darcy turned to face Dean Hall, willing the woman to deny it all, praying to save her from the black hole that threatened to swallow her. Hall was a reserved woman, but she reached between them to place her hand over the one Darcy had gripping the arm of her chair. “I'm sorry, dear.”

She crumbled in on herself with that sympathy. Both women allowed her several minutes to cry, only breaking the sobs to pass her a tissue or pat her back. It took longer than she would have cared for to calm herself enough to speak. “Did my aunt say when the funeral is?” Bev didn't like being called aunt or anything else that made her feel old. 

Too busy wiping her eyes, Darcy missed the looks of discomfort that passed between Dean Hall and Mrs. Cockren. When she looked up, Cockren had a grim set to her lips. “I'm afraid you missed it. Ms. Warren said that between making arrangements and her own grief, that it slipped her mind.” Darcy didn't miss the implied 'you'.

It shouldn't have been surprising really. Kami Warren had always been so wrapped up in her own life that she often forgot about those who couldn't keep up. Namely, her own daughter. Her younger sister Beverly Warren was even worse and was usually coming out of rehab or a month long bender. Kami wasn't a bad person, but she wasn't a stellar mother either. Beverly was rotten to the core. Darcy would bet one year's tuition that Bev had wanted to keep her out of the picture until she could hog the spotlight as a grieving sister and squeeze every last dime from Kami's modest legacy. Joke's on her, after Bev stole her identity a couple of years ago she was cut out of the will. No wiggle room for that leech to sink her teeth into.

Darcy wiped the angry tears from her eyes, unwilling to let them mix with tears of grief drying on her cheeks. “Yeah, that's Aunt Bev alright.” And if she sounded bitter then it was because she had every reason to be. “So, what do I do now?” 

She was still only fifteen, even if she would be graduating in a couple months. Where would she go? She doubted her father would feel a burst of paternal instinct kick in after all these years just because she was out on her ass. Bev would only milk her inheritance and any other (secret by way of NDA's and ridiculously high child support payments) accounts dry before leaving her to fend for herself. Did that mean she was foster system bound? Maybe she could emancipate herself.

“You'll finish out the school year, tuition's already paid.” Dean Hall spoke up with a thankfully less depressing topic. “Because you are underage, you will need a guardian and their approval if you intend to leave campus for any of the holidays or breaks between now and graduation. Until we can get this settled, a social worker will be appointed as your legal guardian.”

So not as scary as she imagined. Probably.

The next half hour was spent in discussion of her options. Apparently she wasn't the first student to be orphaned while at boarding school so there were protocols in place. That was good at least. The following hour after that (which Dean Hall had excused herself from) was spent in tears as Darcy confessed her worry's and fear's to Cockren, much to Darcy's embarrassment. She had never been a crier, but now was as good as anytime to get it all out. After that horror show was over, she was given the rest of the day off and told that she could take the next day off as well if she needed it.

“My door's always open, Darcy. Don't be afraid to stop by if you ever need to.”

Since classes were still going, Darcy got the dorm room to herself for the next four hours. For the first twenty minutes she sat in silence and stared at the knees she had pulled to her chest. For fifteen minutes after that, she looked around her shared room. It was exactly the same as it had been when she left for classes that morning but now it all felt different. Her world had shifted and now nothing would ever be the same. She'd never go home on holidays only to have the house to herself while her mom was out working or partying. No more rolling her eyes while Kami chatted away on the phone, completely ignoring her daughter on the other side of the dinner table. No more of the latest Hollywood gossip shared over organic fat-free, gluten-free ice cream that tasted like a snow cone without the color. Kami would never look at her over the rims of her designer sunglasses with disgust for her knit caps. 

Another half hour was devoted to crying before she finally dried out. More likely she was dehydrated and the coke she was drinking wasn't helping as much as a bottle of water might. She finished her drink and chucked it into the wastepaper basket under her desk before sitting down at her desk with her laptop. Darcy opened a window to compose a new email and stares at it for several minutes, her mind just as blank as the body. The only thing filled out was the address. An email account used for the sole purpose of contacting her father. At first she had sent him a handful of emails but he never wrote back so she stopped. 

She closed the window and pulled her phone out. There were only five people in this world who knew her true parentage. Well, four now. Both parents, their respective and tight lipped lawyers and of course Darcy herself. Probably, given his history of total avoidance, she should contact his lawyer. 

It was one of her emergency contacts, Gregory Hale, Attorney at Law. That had raised a few eyebrows with her admissions. Hale had garnered fame when he was a young man by representing Tycoon Howard Stark when he had been accused of selling weapons to communists. Now he represented Stark Jr. and all the high class clientele.

“Hale, Abbott and Bose Law Firm.” A polished voice answered.

“I need to speak to Mr. Hale?” Darcy ran a hand through her short locks and pulled a strand up close for examination. She'd need a touch up on her red highlights soon. 

There was a noticeable pause on the other end of the line. “Which Hale?”

“Greg.”

The pause was longer this time and she heard a huff of annoyance before the secretary began speaking again. “Listen, Mr. Hale doesn't have time for pranks-”

“This isn't a prank phone call!” Usually, Darcy didn't get wound so tight as to snap at people, but extenuating circumstances and all. “Look, just tell him Darcy Warren needs to speak with him ASAP.”

Darcy could practically hear the eye rolling. “One moment, Miss.”

Not a minute later the weird flute music stopped and a masculine voice replaced the secretary. “Ms. Warren, usually I hear from your mother. What can I do for you today.”

“Kami died.” Well, no one had ever accused her being tactful. 

There was a pause on Hale's end where he was probably ruing the day he ever laid eyes on Howard Stark. “I'm sorry to hear that, Ms. Warren. If you give me the address of the mortuary I'll send flowers.”

“Too late. My aunt forgot to call and tell me that she died last week so I missed it, too. I only found out a couple hours ago.” Her voice cracked just a little bit.

Another longer pause. She couldn't decipher this silence though. 

“So, I'm still under age and my aunt's a leech who's constantly in and out of rehab, my only other family is you-know-who. I don't know what to do.” Her voice trailed off at the end pathetically.

She imagined Hale standing up to look out his floor to ceiling glass window on the forty-fourth floor of his office building. He was probably wondering about the amount of force it would take for a man of his size and age to break through the glass and plummet to his death. Darcy of course knew the answer, he'd have to use the roof because a man of his age and weight (she was basing this off of the last time she saw him) wouldn't be able to break a window of that density with his strength alone. And if he wanted a sudden death upon impact with the sidewalk, then he really only needed to be thirty-two stories up. 

“You attend Emma Willard School in Troy, correct?” His voice sounded older, tired.

“Yeah.”

“You'll be appointed a social worker, I'll get in contact with their offices and schedule an appointment with your Head of School for next week.” He said and Darcy nodded right along as though he could see her. “I need contact information for your aunt and for you to keep with the Nondisclosure Agreements. If the social worker asks who your father is give them my number and do not answer.”

Darcy rolled her eyes. “Yeah, only in my nightmares.” She muttered but there was a smothered chortle from Hale. “I don't know her number or address. Her name is Beverly Warren and she usually lives in L.A. She's probably got a parole officer or something.”

“I'll look into it and call you back with details by tomorrow. Good evening Ms. Warren.”

“Good evening, Mr. Hale.”

She set the phone down on her desk and stared at her computer screen again. Sometimes everything just really sucked. Her roommate, Trudy Harrington, an east coast heiress and two years older than her, came in three hours later to find her still staring blankly at her laptop.

Everything moved pretty quickly after that. She was regularly hit with bouts of grief or guilt, sometimes a nasty combination of the two, but she moved forward. Kami Warren had never slowed down and neither would Darcy. Apparently Hale had gotten in touch with Bev because she received three nasty voice mails swearing up and down that she would die a penniless whore regretting the day she cast Bev aside. Darcy learned a lot of new swears that made Trudy blanch in horror. Evidently blue bloods don't use that kind of language in casual conversation, or ever.

The meeting with the Dean Hall, her state appointed social worker and Mr. Hale came and went with little to no fuss. Arnold Collins had been galled that neither Darcy or Hale would tell him who her father was and nor were they required to by law. Dean Hall had already been through the whole roller coaster when Darcy had been admitted three years prior. In the end Mr. Hale had been selected as Darcy's legal guardian until she turned seventeen in two years where she would be quickly emancipated. Because who would put a kid in the foster system who was already two years into college. Mr. Hale vowed to retire when the papers were finalized. Poor guy was always holding a hand to his stomach to soothe ulcers, three generations of bullshit will do that to a man.

Darcy graduated second in her class (Shakespeare can kiss her rosy round ass) and spent the summer interning with Lockheed Martin, a defense contractor with the U.S. Military, for her third and final year. They were no Stark Industries, but they were defiantly better than Hammer Corp., everyone knew their tech was a joke. She didn't even want to get into building weapons, but most research and money was sunk into building a better mouse trap, so for now, it would do. 

There were three weeks left of her internship and she and four others had been invited to attend a weapons demonstration in D.C. Lockheed Martin payed for their one week hotel stay at the Park Hyatt on Dupont Circle. Darcy got her own room while the three older boys all shared. It had been rough at the start of her internship, security had actually threaten to call her mother several times, and no one had taken her seriously, thinking she was the daughter of some politician who wanted to play science. That changed when she had presented her ideas on ways to compact the engine and overall size of the aircraft they were working on, gaining speed and maneuverability without loosing the balance or power.

Now, her last month into her three-legged internship, she got to see her ideas in action. Colonel Rhodes with the air force was the one who got to fly the F-62 Devil fondly named Gonzales. Darcy had never seen anything so beautiful as he maneuvered Gonzales through the sky like a ballerina would dance across the stage. Rhodes and Gonzales were dancing and Darcy's smile had never been bigger.

It wasn't until the end of the week when she was at a fundraiser that it all crashed to a screeching halt. The point of bringing the interns along was to schmooze and network. Of course being fifteen, Darcy had to stick with her supervisor or otherwise be ignored as someone who hadn't been apart of the project. So annoying but she only had to wait a couple more years until she'd grow out of it. 

Darcy was staring at the melting ice cube in her glass of coke when Colonel Rhodes walked up, her mood brightening instantly. She had been hoping she'd get to talk to him. 

“Mr. Dunne,” The Colonel said, holding out his hand. Matt took his hand and nodded in greeting. “I've been asking about the mastermind behind F-62 Devil and they all pointed me in your direction. I've gotta say, that was the smoothest ride I've ever taken in an aircraft that small.”

The urge to scowl was nearly too much, but somehow she managed and took a sip of her coke. Matt caught her eyes and smirked, he thought it was hilarious, he thought she was hilarious and not in the tells-great-jokes kind of way. Matt Dunne was 55 and had been one of the few not completely skeptical of her abilities in the beginning. He liked to call her the lost Stark which had freaked her out to no end when he had first said it until she realized he was messing with her. It still made her supremely uncomfortable but she had become used to it. At least he hadn't mentioned it while they were in D.C.

“The one you're looking for is Darcy,” He shot her a wink. “You know how kids are today, they want everything bigger and better but small enough to fit in their pockets.” Of course she hadn't done all the work, it was a team effort. She just kind of got the ball rolling. 

Colonel Rhodes eyebrows shot up with apparent surprise and Darcy couldn't suppress the the smile that curled around her face. “Darcy Warren.” She held out her own hand and shook his.

Darcy spent nearly an hour gushing to Colonel Rhodes about the work she got to do with Lockheed Martin and how excited she was when she started MIT next month. In turn, the Colonel told her about the opportunities a life in uniform could offer and his own experiences at MIT. Darcy was a great many things, but a soldier in any capacity was not one of those things. This night was perfect, it was the best she had felt since that day in Mrs. Cockren's office six months ago.

And then Tony Stark walked into the room, drawing everyone's attention, and Darcy felt her stomach fall straight through the floor.

Honestly, if she had known he'd be here, she would have faked a wicked period cramp in her hotel room. She had met him a total of four times in her memory. Kami had said he'd held her after she was born, but his next visits had all been disappointing. The last visit they had tried just before Darcy entered high school. He had been hungover and had called her Darla more often than not. Right now, she could only hope they stayed on opposite sides of the room. 

No such luck, he brushed off some blonde as his eyes searched the room and then stop on their little group. For one heart stopping moment, she thought his attention was focused on her as he began weaving through people. The need to run clashed with the need to scowl at him like the moody teenager she was. She settled for stepping back so she was partially hidden by Matt. Out of sigh out of mind seemed to work for most of the adults she had met over the last few days and it had certainly worked for her dad for the last fifteen years. 

“Tony, glad you could make it.” Rhodes words were bone dry. The last of the stragglers had wondered into the party over three hours ago. The night would be wrapping up soon. 

“Scheduling conflict.” He offered without apology. 

Colonel Rhodes stared at him for a moment, looking like he wanted to say something else but Tony had already moved on. “Dunne, how ya been? Still working with Lockheed?”

A waiter came over with a single glass filled with amber liquid on a trey. Tony grabbed the glass and took a drink, some of the buzzing tension in him relaxing with that first swallow.

“Yes, we just presented F-62 Devil the other day.” He glanced down to Darcy with a grin. Normally, she'd be all over the networking, but this is the one person she shouldn't be spending any time in public with. She gave him a closed lipped smile.

Tony nodded along. “Right, I saw the footage of the test run. Solid work. I like the name.” 

Matt placed a hand between her shoulder blades and pushed her forward so that she was now standing with them instead of off to the side. “That was actually Darcy's idea, she was just telling Jim about how she'll be starting MIT next month.”

Tony finally looked down to her, not one flicker of recognition crossing his face. Of course, the last time they had seen each other was three years ago and she had been a skinny, flat chest twelve year old with a pixie hair cut and blonde high lights. She doubted Kami had sent him yearbook photos. Maybe he even still thought her name was Darla. 

“Aren't you a bit short to be here?” Darcy hadn't realized their was a height requirement for that famous Tony Stark charm. 

She gave a pointed look to his designer dress shoes. “Your heels are taller than mine.” At 5'1, Darcy had her height to blame on her father. Kami had been a blonde and tanned amazon nearly six feet tall without heels. 

Both Matt and the Colonel didn't try to hide their amusement, probably used to the jerk if their familiarity was anything to go by. Tony fixed her with a light glare and a tick in his jaw before holding out his hand. “Tony Stark.”

Duh.

Forcing her hand to grasp his, she met his eye, watching carefully for any sign in his eyes. “Darcy Warren.” 

It was unfortunate and a little bit funny that he had decided to take a swallow of his drink right then. As soon as she had introduced herself, he had released her hand as though she had burned him and spat his mouthful all over the Colonel. The scene drew the attention of others around them, no doubt to witness the latest antics of Tony Stark. Rhodes whispered something that sounded like a threat before stalking off to the bathroom to clean up. He tipped his head to her and Matt before leaving. 

Tony watched him go until he disappeared before turning back to her and Matt. “Bad bourbon, huh?” Matt didn't look convinced, but he also didn't press the issue.

Tony shrugged and glanced down to her. He had glanced at her almost sporadically while he tried to apologize to Colonel Rhodes, but now, his full attention was on her. It made her want to shrink, lash out and cry all at the same time. Instead, her backbone straightened with iron and pretended like nothing was amiss. Hie jaw clenched. “Darcy Warren, weren't you the one who won one of our scholarships a couple years ago?”

It almost felt like her consciousness had detached from her brain but her body was still functioning and participating in the real world. “Yes, the Edward Issac Scholarship sent me to Emma Willard.” Edward Issac Stark was the brother of Howard Stark who died during the Great Depression. The scholarship in his honor had been established only three years ago as a sneaky way for Tony to pay for Darcy's education. Tony was supposed to be the one who presented it to her but he flaked out and the De Facto CEO, Something Stane, had presented it to her in his stead. At least it was a real scholarship helping kids who couldn't afford schooling. 

“Right, right.” Darcy was fairly certain he hadn't heard anything she had said. He tore his eyes away from her and looked around. “Shouldn't your mother or parent figure be around her somewhere? Don't tell me you've adopted, Dunne?”

Matt chuckled good naturedly, “I've been tempted, Darcy's a brilliant girl.”

Tony paused in his searching to glance at her again and nod in agreement. “So...”

“My mom died in January, drunk driver.” Darcy gave herself a mental shake and turned the dial back on the sullen teenager routine some. Sure she still missed Kami, but it was unfair to use her memory to hurt Tony. Solid hit, though. He flinched so hard the remainder of his drink nearly sloshed out of his glass. It could be he felt guilt for her or it could be that the same had happened to his parents.

“Rough.” Tony downed the rest of his drink. “Recruiting is more Obie's thing.” And without so much as a goodbye, he turned on his man heels and disappeared into the crowd. 

Matt looked down to her and shrugged. It was a general consensus that Tony Stark was a man of many unapologetic peculiarities. Whatever. At least he was gone now and she didn't have to pretend to ignore the awkward air that hung between them.

Later, as she was climbing into the taxi with Matt and Charles (one of the other interns), she happened to glance up and spot Tony one last time. He was leaning against the building out of the way of the other guests and arguing with Colonel Rhodes. He snapped something to the other man and made a gesture in her direction (had he been watching her?) that caused Rhodes to pause. He turned his head toward the street and looked around until his eyes landed on her. She slide her eyes toward Tony who was staring angrily at his shoes. As though feeling her gaze upon him, he looked up. Darcy wasn't prepared for the emotions flitting across his face, so she quickly slid into the cab and didn't look back.


	2. Chapter 2

Darcy tried not to think of that night too much over the next several months. Greg (yeah, she called Hale by his first name now and it always made him twitch) had called her periodically more often than the six months proceeding the party. According to him, Tony had called him that night to interrogate him and now wanted to meet her. She had been advised to do so. But between her classes, course work and extreme reluctance not to, she hadn't found the time. 

Now it was winter break and she had run out of excuses. Greg and Tony both were pushing for this meeting. If Kami were here, she'd have forced Darcy to go with her passive aggressive comments that would have worn her down in three weeks. But her mother wasn't here any more and Greg was too good a man to suggest she would turn out just like Tony if she kept being so stubborn. She finally cracked, the last week of school when Greg had called, again, to implore her to reconsider. It was the trace of irritation in his words that finally broke her. It wasn't fair to make him play go between to the two of them.

The meeting was set for three days into the new year. For once, the tabloids and news weren't covering the latest scandal Tony had managed to find himself in the middle of. Though, it might have been because they were running behind if the get up he showed up in was anything to go by. A platinum blond wig fit over his own dark hair and a fedora paired with a burgundy velvet sports coat.

Greg had taken out a pill bottle and shaken a couple into his hand before swallowing them dry. For her part, Darcy just stared at him with her mouth hanging open as he walked through the crowded restaurant to their dark corner in the back. If he was trying to be subtle than he had failed. Spectacularly. He sat down and pushed the sleeves of his jacket up to his elbows.

“Did you knock over a Goodwill?”

It was hard to tell over the scratched aviators, but she was pretty sure she was on the hot end of a glare. She shrugged and poked at one of her french fries. Thirty minutes late, Darcy had been sure she'd been stood up again. 

“Anthony, I assume you're well?” Darcy didn't try too hard to cover up the grin that spread her lips, only looking down into her plate. 

Tony looked in his direction with his lips pressed and a tick in his jaw, seemingly unimpressed with the questioning of his state of mind. He turned back to Darcy and lowered the cheap frames down his nose to look her over, an odd expression in his eyes. It reminded her of that moment before she had climbed into the cab and she shifted in her seat.

“So, how's school?”

What an asinine question. Lips set in a firm line, she picked up her fork and gave a vicious stab to one of the leftover fries. “You could have just sent an email if that's what you wanted to know.” 

He shifted in his chair and glanced around at the other patrons. A kid in a booth was being reprimanded by his mother for openly staring at Tony. Most others seemed determined not to acknowledge the existence of the crazy man sitting at the table in the back. Darcy desperately wished she could join them in their denial of his existence. This was the most uncomfortable situation she had found herself in to date, and she had been in many embarrassing situations. 

“Schools fine.” She said, unable to handle the silence that couldn't have been more than a few seconds. 

“Good, good.” Tony was squirming around like a child and honestly, so was she. “So, uh, sorry to hear about Kami. That sucks.”

Something venomous rose in her like a cobra ready to strike. She wanted to lash out at him with every vicious insult she had heard about him and thought on her own over the years. What right did he have to say Kami's name? She hadn't been a perfect mother or person, but she had done what was right for Darcy when he couldn't even bother to remember her name. Where did he get off thinking that he could just demand to see her after one accidental run in and everything would be alright? Kami was her parent and Tony was just the irresponsible jackass who knocked her up. 

With Herculean effort, she bit her tongue until she thought it might bleed. Silence reigned and Tony snatched a paper napkin off the table and twisted it until little pieces broke off. “Look, this isn't easier for me, kid-”

“Darcy.” She interrupted, unable to keep the traces of venom out of her voice. “My name is Darcy.”

Tony pulled back from the table at her snap. “I know.” He had adopted a cautious air about him that didn't fit with the image she had come to know. Did he think she was about to make a scene? At any other time, with anyone else on the planet, Darcy was a laid back kind of girl who just let everything roll off her back. She could take it. But he just made her want to scream and cry and let everyone know what a deadbeat dad Tony Stark really was. 

“Really? Because last time you called me Darla.” She kept her tone and gaze even. “At least you appear to be sober this time.”

On the other side of the table, Greg let out a long suffering sigh and popped a few chalky tablets into his mouth. Probably for an ulcer he had had since the forties. Tony collapsed against the back of his chair and tugged on his ridiculous wig. “Yeah, sorry about that.” He muttered, looking anywhere but at Darcy. She wanted to say it was fine, but it wasn't so she shrugged.

Tony lurched forward so suddenly that Darcy jerked back in reaction. With his forearms resting on the table he leaned in close. “Alright, we all know what a shitty parent I am.” He paused and Darcy raised her eyebrows. If he was waiting for her to disagree than he would keep waiting. “Christ. You look just like dad. That's his Tony-Screw-Up-Scowl.”

“Why am I here?”

He muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like he was comparing how her and Howard Stark even sounded similar. Clearing his throat, he took off his sunglasses and fixed her with all of his attention. “I wanted to see you. You're kinda my kid.”

Darcy lost the fight to not roll her eyes. “Only when you're reminded though, right?” He flinched and leaned back. An irritated huff escaped her and she crossed her arms. It wasn't that she was just mad at Tony for hounding not only her, but Greg too for months. It was that she had promised herself not to snap at him and remind him of his shortcomings. Diplomacy had never been a virtue of hers. Maybe there was a class she could take. “Look, I don't know you so that wasn't fair-”

“Yeah, that'd be my fault.”

“-But you need to either be in or out. Don't hound Greg because you suddenly got it in you to see me.” There, that sounded good. Right to the point. She had always had a bad habit of straying from the topic.

“I didn't hound!” He looked to Greg. “I didn't hound you. Tell her I didn't hound you Greg.”

Greg opened his mouth but Darcy held up a hand to let him know his input wasn't needed. “Of course you did! You hounded him and then he hounded me for the last five months!”

“If anything it was an inquiry, a simple request to see my daughter.”

She leaned forward, unaware that she had mirrored his position. “It might have started out as an inquiry but then you kept at it, thats when it turned to hounding.” She turned her narrowed gaze to Greg who was staring at his empty milkshake glass. “Tell him, Greg.”

The unfortunate attorney looked up with a strange mix of exasperation and resignation. “Surely there are other things you two would wish to discuss.”

Both father and daughter leaned back in their chairs and sat in silence for a moment. So much for finesse. Must be a family trait.

“I wouldn't have had to inquire,” The glare she shot him could have blistered paint. “to Greg if you'd just respond to the emails I sent you.”

She snorted and folded her arms over her chest. “What emails?”

Tony waved an impatient hand between them. “The ones I sent you.” Darcy really hoped she was conveying exactly what she thought of that answer. “You never respond to any of the emails I send you through that account I set up so I don't send them all that often, which is why I had to go through Greg.” He elaborated with a roll of his eyes. 

It was Darcy's turn to roll her eyes. “You've never sent me any emails through your special secret email account. I tried writing to you a few times but I'd never get anything in return so I stopped.” 

The press of his lips turned down into a thoughtful frown. It was the most serious expression she had seen on his face to date. He glanced around again as though he expected someone to be hiding behind the silk ficus in the corner listening to them. “You've been writing to the right address, right? You didn't misspell it or anything?”

Feeling every second of her sixteen years, she recited the email address he had given to her when she was eight as obnoxiously as she could manage. Judging by Tony's eye roll, she had succeed. “You didn't tell anyone did you?”

“And have the world pity me? Pass.”

He met her glare with equal ire. “Yeah, I get it, kid- Darcy. I'm a shitty father, no ones arguing with you. Welcome to the Stark's where we instill a sense of inadequacy from birth.” It wasn't an apology and he didn't sound a bit sorry. Not that she expected or would have accepted either with that tone. “Look, don't send anything else to that address. Are you sure no one else knows?”

She huffed. “As far as I know, only the three of us, Kami's lawyer who had a stroke a couple years ago and Colonel Rhodes are the only ones who do.”

“Anthony!” Greg drew us name out in an exasperated scold. 

Tony waved a dismissive hand at him. “Rhodey won't tell anyone. Besides, its her fault he got suspicious.”

Darcy would never admit to the indignant squawk that erupted from her throat. “The only one drawing attention was you.” She jabbed her index finger with the chipped blue nail polish in his direction. “You're the one who showed up late and spit all over Colonel Rhodes.”

“Like I was supposed to know you were there? You don't even look like you did-”

“-Four years ago?-”

“-last time I saw you.”

Darcy closed her eyes and counted to ten. When that didn't work, she counted to thirty. By nature, she wasn't the type to sit and argue with someone and all this back and forth with Tony was draining her. “Whatever.”

“You're such a teenager.” He sounded just as petulant as she did.

“Like you can talk.” She looked away with a scowl.

He held a hand out to her and turned to Greg. “I'm not a teenager. Tell her, Greg.”

Her eyes snapped up to meet Tony's. “Tell him he's wrong, Greg.”

“Yes, Greg!”

“No, Greg!”

Greg stood up and leveled a glare at the two of them, looking far older than any man had a right to. He didn't say anything to them directly but she distinctly heard him mumble 'Damn Stark's' under his breath before leaving the table.

Darcy looked down to her plate once he had disappeared into the men's room. Tony seemed to be fidgeting in his seat. It seemed like he always had to move or have something in his hands. Something she had noticed even when she was a kid. It was vice she could relate to and one of the main reasons she was pursuing engineering as her major. The insatiable urge to tinker.

“So, uh,” She glanced up to see Tony looking around the restaurant like a deranged bobble head. “You had a birthday, kinda recently.”

Two months ago. “Yeah.”

He reached into the pocket of his ugly jacket and pulled out a small box wrapped in shimmery pink paper. It looked suspiciously like a birthday present. Of course, he sent her gifts every year, but he sent them to Kami's house and she wouldn't get to open them until she was home on her winter holiday break. She had completely forgotten about them this year. 

When she didn't take it from his hand he set it on the table between them. “Happy birthday.” Tony still looked supremely uncomfortable and was still avoiding her gaze.

He had never directly given her a gift before. Reaching forward, she picked it up and carefully peeled the tape back without tearing the paper. It was a pet peeve of hers. The silver cardboard box inside was the width and length of a necklace box, only deeper. Opening it she found the assorted components of something. Like the last two years, she was supposed to build whatever it was supposed to be. She had never said it out loud, but she had really loved the little machines he had sent her. 

When she was fourteen, the disassembled parts had come in a box big enough for her to sit inside. It had taken her nearly a month to build the small robot. It was actually pretty thoughtful compared to most of his gifts. Last year, it had been another bot, more complex and she had got to build the circuit board for it. This year, whatever it turned out to be would be smaller and far more delicate. The best things about these were that they didn't come with instructions, she enjoyed having to figure it out. For all the disparaging thoughts and comments she made about Tony, these birthday presents made her feel like maybe he did care. She had done her research, there was nothing like this sold on the market. Tony had taken the time to craft them for her and that had to mean something, right?

She closed the lid with a small smile and looked up to him. He was leaning back in his chair with his arms folding and glaring at the silk ficus. He's such a man-child. “Thank you, Tony.” She said softly. “I love it.”

He gruffly cleared his throat. “Yeah, well. Its the least I could do.” Not by half, but she didn't say that. Any minute he might bolt up out of his seat and flee from all the feelings floating around. 

“So, instead of hounding,” Tony gave a derisive snort but kept his trap shut. “Greg, how about next time you want to talk to me you just ask me yourself? Apparently the emails a no go, so how about I give you my number?”

“I already have your number.” At her raised eyebrows he elaborated with a long suffering sigh worthy of any three year old. “Just because I didn't go to your dance recital doesn't mean I haven't kept up with what's going on in your life.”

That, that was unexpected. “I never had a dance recital.” Was her immediate and stupid reply. And then her mind caught up with her mouth. “Wait a minute, you didn't even recognize me at the fundraiser until I introduced myself.”

Tony shifted. “Greg and Kami kept me updated.” The upsurge of anger at hearing Kami's name from his mouth didn't happen this time. Only a dull hallow throb in the center of her chest. But this time, the cause wasn't just Kami's memory.

Greg returned at that moment looking less flustered then when he had left. He cast a weary glance between the two of them before sitting down. They all sat in silence for a moment longer before Greg cleared his throat. “Well, I really should be getting back to the office.”

They both took their cue from him and stood up, Tony laying down a couple twenties to cover the bill and Darcy carefully clutching the box in one hand. Once out on the sidewalk Greg reminded her to call when she made it back to school before leaving her and Tony alone to shuffle awkwardly on the sidewalk. “So, uh, I guess I'm going to go now.”

Tony looked at her. “Right, do you need a ride or something?”

She shook her head. “No, I've got a car.” He nodded and looked to the ground, shifting his weight between his feet. “What?”

“Nothing. Well, I mean, have you had it looked over?”

Darcy couldn't help but stare at the awkward man before her who was constantly on the front pages of Forbes, People and all manner of other magazines. It was just such a dad thing to ask. “I rebuilt the whole engine block. It was my senior project.”

Excessive nodding.

“Do you want to see?” If he really had been keeping tabs on her this whole time than the least she could do was throw the man a bone.

He made a show of waffling about the idea and somehow her hands found their way to her hips just like her mother used to do. “If you have somewhere better to be...”

“No. Let's see it.”

A quick peek under the hood turned into two hours of shop talk that lead to a trip to Dairy Queen for ice cream. Before she knew it, it was getting dark and they had ordered burgers and fries and more ice cream for dinner. This, this right here is what she had always pictured when she allowed herself to fantasize about what it would be like if Tony was a bigger part of her life. That's not to say she was under the delusion that it would be like this all the time, but it was a start. Whatever the hold up with the email, maybe this time they could actually have some form of relationship. Even still, a small voice in the back of her mind reminded her of all the years she had been hurt and disappointed by Tony and that this was probably a one time thing.

Darcy left New York that night with a promise to call Tony (he had insisted that she call him before Greg) when she reached her dorm in Cambridge. Cautious but still excited, she sang loudly and off key the whole way home. Only speeding a little bit when she got caught up in a song.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm starting summer classes soon so don't expect updates every week though I will try.


	3. Chapter 3

Days passed in a haze of numbers and formulas, term papers and final exams until finally, graduation was in three months. Greg pushed her emancipation through the courts in record time. The finalized documents came attached with an invitation to his retirement party. At eighty-two years old and serving three generations of Stark's, Gregory Hale retired to Cotacachi, Ecuador without a backward glance. She'd miss Greg, he was a good guy.

As much as Darcy had been convinced that Tony would flake out on her, they did end up staying in touch via text messages. Their relationship evolved into more of a distant friendship than something familial. Every now and then Tony would surprise her with an act so fatherly that it was unsettling. At least she got to meet Colonel Rhodes on one of the handful of times they met face to face. Jim declared her the more likable of the two remaining Stark's right off the bat. It was probably because Tony kept up with his ridiculous disguises. Honestly, it was so embarrassing, who the hell let him out dressed like that?

It had been hard over the years to keep up when her classmates and, occasionally, professors wanted to leave her behind. That's what happens when you're a no name on a fake scholarship and too young to party. While still the youngest to graduate since Tony Stark, she wasn't the only one put to the side for her age. There were two others in her year, both a year older and both boys. 

Hal Taylor and Brian Brown were both on scholarships and had been granted early admission. They were also locked in an increasingly hostile competition to one up the other. On several occasions, Darcy had had to stop their bickering during study group or risk being tossed from the library. Again. Between refereeing for those two, her ever increasing workload and various internships, she had fallen out of touch with the few friends she had had pre-MIT. Now the only people she talked to or saw in a social setting was Tony (a couple times a year) and the two idiots grappling on the floor in front of her dorm door. 

It was embarrassing really. There were YouTube videos. Videos, as in more than one. 

She glanced down the hall to see some guy with a girlfriend on the same floor as Darcy taking a video with his phone. One day they were going to kill each other, or more likely, she was going to kill them both. It'd be worth it. Totally worth it. There had to be someone who would let her use her degrees and work from prison. Justin Hammer seemed the type. 

Shoulders slumping, she lowered her head and reached to grab the Nerf water gun she had bought after midterms their first year. It was almost better than kicking them both until they let go. Almost. Her neighbors identified her as the girl who was friends with the two guys who were always trying to kill each other. 

“Alright! Alright!”

“Christ, you didn't need to get the water gun, Warren!”

They pulled away from each other and straightened their dripping hair and clothes. She leveled an unimpressed glare at the both of them and walking past them, making a path for the stairs. The annual job fair where pending graduates met with potential employers had come to campus for the week. The booths alternated from day to day, this would be the third time she had visited. 

Today the big attractions were Stark Industries and Optimum Innovations, an up and coming robotics company dedicated to pushing technology through the roof and into the next century. Darcy had been looking forward to meeting their representatives as soon as she saw them on the schedule. Despite Tony's arguments and Rhodey's bribing, she didn't want to use her knowledge to build weapons. Sure, both SI and the military had other divisions for developing tech that weren't weapons, but she just wasn't interested. 

Optimum Innovations' booth was packed with students when they arrived, so she put off visiting them first. She wondered around for a bit until she had found herself in front of the SI booth. Tony had told her that his business partner, Obadiah Stane, would be there recruiting and that she should stop by once she was finished talking to the hippie's. Sometimes Tony really showed his age. So, while Brown and Taylor were talking to NASA, Darcy stopped by SI.

The man who was presumably Stane, was talking to a couple of guys she had seen in some of her classes. He was a tall man with a trimmed white beard and shaved head. He seemed friendly enough and not as intimidating as some of the other representatives she had met with over the last several days which was always a plus. 

Picking up one of the brochures on the corner of the table, she skimmed over the short paragraphs about locations and benefits and areas of work. It was actually very tempting. Tony could never know, she would take this secret temptation to the grave. 

“Are you thinking about a career with Stark Industries?”

Darcy looked up to see gray-brown eyes and a warm smile focused on her. She looked down to the glossy pamphlet in her hands and blinked. “Oh, um, I'm not sure if building weapons is something I want to do.”

He leaned back and gave her an assessing look, trying to find the best angle to approach with her. “Darcy Warren, right?” Well that surprised her, she usually kept to herself for the most part, her shock was clearly evident on her face because he chuckled. “You've been on our recruitment list since your early admission and internship with Lockheed. I didn't expect you to look so young.” He tilted his head to the left with something that wasn't quiet a frown.

The urge to scowl was nearly overpowering, but somehow she managed. At eighteen years old, Darcy stood at five foot two and with little to no womanly features. Much to her ire, she had Tony's height and coloring and Kami's build. The result was that she looked like she was younger than she was, at least fifteen. No one in her age group wanted to date her for fear of looking like a kiddie fiddler. She still held out hope though, Kami had warned that she had been a late bloomer but even still, her cup size had been a B on a good day with a padded bra. Darcy was rocking an A cup on a good day. Though she had spotted the tell-tale tearing of what looked to be a stretch mark this morning. Maybe the last part of puberty was finally catching up with her. 

“Yeah, I get that a lot.” None of her professor's had tried their hand at perceived pedophilia during her time at MIT. At the very least it would have been an ego boost. 

Stane chuckled again. “So, what were you thinking of for after you graduate. Stark Industries boosts a wide range of fields in R&D.”

She looked over the list again. Really, Tony had a finger in nearly every pie she could use her degrees for. “Not weapons.” Even carrying her taser made her feel uneasy but (now retired and living on a beach in Ecuador) Greg had insisted on it. “Energy, transportation and robotics look interesting for a start.”

He nodded. “At our factory in Malibu, we have an arc reactor powering the whole complex. Clean energy is in high demand. We could use a young woman with your skills in that department.” He observed. Darcy could have kissed him for not calling her a little girl. It was one of many pet peeves. “Of course, I understand you were the brain behind the F-62 Devil. Its difficult to compact an aircraft like that and keep its balance.” Darcy blushed with the compliment. “Our robotics division has been taking big steps in the last several years, and we're always looking for a fresh take on things. We encourage our employees to move around in our different departments when they get stuck on a project.”

Well gosh, he sure knew how to appeal to a person didn't he? Tony probably knew how persuasive Stane was and set her up. “Its all very tempting.” She wasn't going to agree to anything on the spot, especially without visiting her target booth first.

“You're at the top of a very short list of graduates Stark Industries is actively pursuing for recruitment.” He said pulling out a folder stuffed with papers and passing it to her. “Here's a packet of events, applications, and benefits. Take your time and look them over. Now, I understand you want to find the best fit for yourself, do you mind if I ask who all you're looking at?”

“Well, I've talked with Lockheed, Jacobs, AECOM Tech, Boeing, DuPont, Honeywell, all the military and governments, Colonel Rhodes with the Air Force was particularly aggressive.”

Stane chuckled right along with her. He was by far the easiest to talk to, no wonder SI got all the best with him doing the recruitment's. “That F-62 you helped design is one of Jim's favorites.” He said with an easy nod. “Lockheed got a big contract with the Air Force out of that.”

She knew, Matt had sent her a gift basket. 

“Listen, we're having a tour of our research facility in Queens this summer for new employees. Whether you decide to choose a career with us or not, you should come take a look. I think you'll be surprised on how much research we devote to tech that's not meant for weapons.” Stane pulled out a business card with his name on it and scribbled down an address, times and a phone number. “I'll go ahead and add your name to the list. Call this number and set up a time.”

Darcy took the card and left the booth, feeling for the first time that SI might be a good fit for her. No wonder the company was so successful. Sure, Howard and Tony were brilliant beyond compare, but Stane was the business man that allowed them the room to invent flying cars and freeze rays (seriously, a couple of her professors still talked about the freeze ray Tony Stark had built in his second year of MIT). She would take SI into serious consideration when she finally choose who to pursue.

An hour later and Darcy left the job fair without Brown and Taylor in tow. They had gotten caught up trying to impress a group of girls and hadn't noticed when she slipped away. Sometimes it stung when no one saw her worth the hassle. Well, physically, anyway. Plenty of people were after her for her brains.

Darcy was pulled from her bitter thoughts when an older woman with classically curled, white hair came to a halt in front of her. Dressed in a smart blue jacket with a matching skirt, everything about this woman screamed top authority figure. For a moment, Darcy almost darted around her, sure that she must be in the way. It was only the warm smile and direct eye contact that cemented her sneakers to the pavement. 

“Miss Warren, my name is Peggy Carter.” Carter had a British accent, but it was muted, as though she had lived away from her home country for a long time. “I was hoping you might have lunch with me. I have a proposition for you.”

They ended up at a small tea parlor Darcy had never known existed. Mrs. Carter ordered a chicken salad sandwich and rooibos tea. Since Darcy's normal cuisine included stronger caffeine products and greasy foods, she ordered the same and hoped for the best. Darcy looked around nervously at the other patrons, grandmothers with their granddaughters, and wondered if that's what she and Mrs. Carter looked like. 

Darcy squirmed in her seat before looking to Mrs. Carter who was watching her with a small measure of amusement. She tilted her chin up and plowed through her nerves. “You said you had a proposition for me?” Please don't let this old lady be asking her to build a bomb or something crazy like that. There were pamphlets and PSA's warning MIT students against this very thing. 

“You remind me quiet a bit of your grandfather.” 

Darcy's mind blanked. Her grandfather? “Kevin Warren?” Who had run off on his wife Abby before Bev was born.

The woman's red lips, thinned with age, curved into a smile and she huffed out a short laugh. “No, you're other grandfather, Howard.”

Alarm sirens rung on high in her ears drowning out all other sound and nearly her own thoughts. Deny! Deny, deny, deny! “I'm sorry, I've never meet my father or anyone in his family.”

If anything, Carter looked more amused. “Of course, I understand there are legal actions that keep you from speaking about your father and his family.” She pulled her purse into her lap from the back of the chair and began to look through it. “So allow me to talk, and you can listen.”

Mrs. Carter took out an old picture and passed it across the table to Darcy. She hoped the other woman didn't notice how her hands shook when she reached for it. In the picture Tony was standing off to the side, looking supremely uncomfortable. He almost looked like he'd rather jump out of the window to his left if his grimace was any kind of tell. Sitting in a high backed arm chair was an older woman with short, rolled hair and holding a swathed baby. Leaning over the arm of the chair and smiling underneath a graying mustache was Howard Stark. 

“I took that picture the night you were born. Howard was a dear friend of mine as was Maria.” 

Darcy couldn't tear her eyes away from the picture, drinking in every detail. Kami had of course told her that Tony and his parents had been there to hold her when she was born but there hadn't been any pictures. An unexpected wave of emotion rose up in her until tears burned her vision. She hadn't even known her grandparents, hardly ever thought of them. And then here was this picture of them holding her and smiling like she was this golden light of all things precious. 

“Though they didn't live long after that picture was taken, they loved you a great deal.” 

Dammit, there went the tears she had been holding back. She set the picture down and dabbed her eyes and cheeks with her napkin. She forced a watery laugh out. “Tony looks terrified.”

Carter nodded fondly. “Yes, he was. Still is, I imagine. Howard was the same way the day he was born.”

Darcy set her damp napkin back in her lap. “How did you know Howard?” She hoped that didn't sound like she was asking if she was one of his flings. The Stark men had a reputation. 

“From the war. We worked together in the SSR and then later again when we founded SHIELD together with a few other colleagues.” Darcy made to hand the picture back but she held her hand up. “You keep it.”

Darcy brought it back close to her, unwilling to hide it away just yet. “If you met Howard in WWII does that mean you met Captain America?” Tony had some weird mental tick whenever she asked about him. It was vaguely concerning the way his face would contort just so. She had almost thought he'd had a stroke the first time he had done it.

For a moment, the most tragic smile Darcy had every had to bear witness to, lit up the other woman's face. “Yes, I knew Steve.” The wistful look made Darcy's heart clench and regret she ever asked. 

“What was he like?” She asked instead of offering an apology and changing the subject. Everyone learned about the great war hero who defeated the Nazi's at the cost of his own life. In her academic career, she had written a total of five papers on his wartime accomplishments. Hell, there were even cartoons and lunchboxes dedicated to his memory. So it was only natural to be curious.

The waitress came back with a pot of their tea and Mrs. Carter poured them each a cup. “He was nothing like the media portrayed him to be.” Carter watched her cup steam, her thoughts lost in a different time. “Steve Rogers was a genuinely good man. Even before the serum, I admired his tenacity to do what was right when others were so quick to dismiss him.”

In Saturday morning cartoons, Captain America's lady love was Betty Carver, a ditz who found herself in the clutches of the evil Nazi's every episode. Betty Carver was the main reason she didn't watch the shows as a kid. The idea that a woman so weak and stupid actually appealed to a man who was supposed to be a brilliant tactician was disgusting. Kami had agreed with her and instead they watched looney tunes. But now, some cog she hadn't known about was clicking into place.

“Were you – I mean...” She floundered for a way to ask without coming off as discourteous and waved her hand around like a maniac. “Betty Carver?” Oh yeah, that was articulate. 

Mrs. Carter sighed, understanding her disjointed rambling and frenzied gesticulating all the same. “That was Senator Brandt's idea, to capitalize and exploit Steve's memory even after he had died. The woefully inept Betty Carver was a jab at me for encouraging Steve to join the war effort rather than play his dancing monkey.”

They were silent as the waitress came back with their sandwiches. Chicken salad was good, there were even little grapes and nuts in it. She'd have to come back here before she graduated in the next couple of weeks.

“So, what's SHIELD, I mean, Tony told me about how Howard used to work with the SSR. But I don't think I've ever heard of SHIELD before.” 

Carter dabbed at her mouth with more finesse than Darcy's swipe. “You wouldn't have. It's a world intelligence agency. Which brings me to the proposition I mentioned earlier.”

Peggy (that's right, she was on a first name basis with Captain America's old girlfriend and founder of the super spy organization SHIELD) was offering her a job to work with SHIELD. Not just weapons, a point a lot of people were making with her lately. There'd be tech and research she'd have access to that most of the world didn't even know existed. SHIELD was offering her the chance to save lives on a large and meaningful scale. The more Peggy talked to her about all the opportunities and resources that would be available to her, the more she wanted it. Hell, Stane probably would have agreed right along with Peggy. Not Tony though, that man never let a bone go once he had a grip on it. 

They didn't spend the whole of their time talking about career opportunities though. For the first time, Darcy got to hear what her grandparents were like as real people. Tony had avoided the subject bitterly and Greg would always come down with a wicked case of heartburn anytime she asked about Howard. Their reactions and how the media cast him left her with little hope for her family line. A girl in her junior class in high school had written a strongly worded essay that had torn Howard Stark down from the feet up. But he had been Peggy's friend, and she gave Darcy the opportunity to know her grandfather like she never would have otherwise. 

“Whether you decide to accept my offer or not, feel free to call.” Darcy was handed a second business card. This one was blank but for the name Margret Carter and a phone number in type. “You're a brilliant young woman, Darcy, don't limit yourself.”

And with that, they parted ways. Darcy walked back to her dorm, trapped inside of her thoughts on the future. This morning she had been certain of where she was going and what she planned to do. But now, so many other avenues had opened up and she didn't know what she wanted. Only a few hours earlier she had felt like graduation couldn't get here fast enough and now it was too close and she wasn't ready. Today was not supposed to turn out like this. Still, it was exciting and she found herself smiling softly, her thumb rubbing over the small photograph in her hand like a lucky coin.

So busy with her inner struggle, she didn't notice Stane watching her from across the parking lot. Maybe if she had seen him or the calculating frown on his face, she might have been better prepared for what happened next. Things might have been different. But she didn't see him. And she didn't hear the conversation he had once he'd pulled his phone out. In ten weeks time, in the middle of the night, she would deal with the ramifications of that seemingly innocuous moment. For now, she would ponder the future and her place in it with a light heart and a bounce in her step.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've had this chapter done for a while but have been sitting on it until I could work out the next two chapters. I was going to wait until around Christmas to post this but I'm kind of stuck at home for the time being with a sliced cornea.

**Author's Note:**

> This work is not beta'd. Please bring my attention to any mistakes. Thank you.


End file.
